How To Do A French Pedicure At Home: 10 Easy Steps And Tips

How To Do A French Pedicure At Home: 10 Easy Steps And TipsJyotsana RaoHyderabd040-395603080February 11, 2019

Who would have thought that it is possible to do a French pedicure at home and save all the money that you would have otherwise wasted on a fancy salon?

Not any patchy job of a French pedicure either, mind you. It is possible to achieve a salon-like French pedicure finish at home, and we’ll tell you how.

Scroll down to find a definitive step-by-step guide to getting a perfect French pedicure at home. Go on.

What Is A French Pedicure?

A French pedicure is a method of decorating your nails with a thin white horizontal strip of nail color on the tips of your nails, with the plate of the nail either painted in clear, pink or neutral tone nail polishes.

Time to try the French pedicure! Scroll down.

You Need

Nail Polish Remover

Cotton Balls

Nail Cutter

Nail Filer

Tub

Warm Water

Epsom Salt

Towel

Exfoliating Cream

Pumice Stone

Moisturizer

Cuticle Trimmer

Nail Separator

Nail Polish (Opaque White And Transparent)

Drying Spray

Step 1: Prep Your Nails

Click here and take a quiz to know your skin type and get customized skin care for Clear, Glowing skin

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Before you even begin to do anything, first clean up your haggard nails. Remove the existing nail polish on it, cut them (leaving some nail for the French tips), and file them neatly. Here’s how to do it.

Click here and take a quiz to know your skin type and get customized skin care for Clear, Glowing skin

Start to file your nails. Do it from one side to the other until they even out and become smooth. Make sure you keep your nails long to enable the French manicure. Then, one final cleanup before you soak your feet in the water.

Step 2: Soak Your Feet In Water

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Ah, the best part! Take a tub of warm water and add Epsom salt to it. You can even get a little fancy and add a few drops of soothing essential oils like lavender, rosehip, and grapefruit to it.

Soak your feet in the water and stay put for 10-20 minutes. It will soften the skin on your foot and make it easy to deal with rugged areas of the skin later. This helps the skin to rejuvenate, relax, and heal.

A small tip here – while you soak your feet in the water, you can unwind by reading a book or listening to some soothing music.

Step 3: Scrub Your Tootsies

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Next is scrubbing your feet. It is pretty simple and straightforward actually. Dry your foot with a clean towel once you remove them from the warm water. Take an exfoliator in your hand and start rubbing your soles.

Gently, in circular motions, scrub away the flaky dead skin. This process also softens the thick calluses on your feet. Start with one foot and go on to the next one. Take your time.

You can also use a pumice stone and scrub the ends, tips, and back of your feet with it. Make sure you don’t scrub too hard though. Rinse and pat dry.

Step 4: Moisturize

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Now, is the time to indulge. Lather your feet with the creamiest of lotions and massage with your fingertips, applying slight pressure to the skin to reduce stress.

Choose a moisturizer whose texture and smell you love. Something juicy and fruity like mango butter or delicious like cocoa butter or shea butter. Go all the way, don’t limit yourself here.

Massage your feet for a good 10 minutes until the moisturizer gets completely absorbed into the skin. You’ll notice that the skin is fresh and glowing after you are done moisturizing.

Step 5: Use A Cuticle Trimmer

Time to give some TLC to your cuticles. Take some cuticle oil and massage it gently on the cuticles. Fix the edges and trim the dead and hanging skin.

Take a cuticle stick and push back the overgrown skin gently. Remove any hanging nails and make sure you don’t overdo any part of the cuticle fixing as that would be damaging. Rinse your feet and pat dry.

Step 6: Color Your Nails

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The fun part begins with coloring your nails. Take toe separators and place them on your feet – they make painting your nails easier and fuss-free. Otherwise, you can use cotton balls to do the job.

Apply a coat of clear nail polish and let it dry for a few minutes. You can choose baby pink, beige or other skin color shades.

Step 7: Add The French Tips

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The main part – Frenching your nails away. It’s pretty easy. You just got to aim right. Take an opaque white nail polish and spread the nail paint horizontally on the tips of your nails from one side to the other as the first coat. Let it dry, then apply the second coat from the other side.

Make sure the color is creamy and pigmented. You need to get a thin white line at the tip of your nails.

If using a nail polish brush to do this seems too difficult, you can opt for a concealer brush or use nail strips to make the process easier. If there are any white patches left on the skin, you can just remove them with a brush soaked in a nail polish remover.

Step 8: Let The Nail Polish Dry

Dip your feet in cold water for a few minutes – it’ll help dry the polish quicker and also make it last longer. Wait till the nail polish is dry.

Remove your feet from the water and gently pat it dry.

Step 9: Apply The Second Coat

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To put the entire nail look together, you must apply another coat of clear nail polish. Apply a single layer of clear nail polish to the whole nail. Finish the job in swift and even strokes – it helps to cover the nail in one layer and highlight the French-pedicured nails. You can also choose a very pale pink color as a top coat.

Step 10: Spritz On A Drying Spray

Take a drying spray and spritz it on your nails from a distance. It helps dry your nails faster and gets you going without any danger of smudging the nail paint.

Make sure you do not spray too much on the nails to avoid using too much of the product.

Pretty feet make a lovely sight and prettier nails even better. Go au naturale and opt for the French pedicure; show off your beautiful feet in sandals and flip-flops. Follow our DIY French pedicure guide above and let us know in the comments section below about how it worked for you.

Expert’s Answers For Readers’ Questions

How do I make my French pedicure last longer?

Regular touch-ups and reapplications will help your French pedicure last longer.

What is a reverse French pedicure?

In a reverse French pedicure, the white coat is at the base of the nail in a curved shape, aligned to the nail’s base. A reverse pedicure does not necessarily use white and nude/pink shades.

How long will my French pedicure last?

That depends on how well you maintain your feet. The French pedicure can stand well for a good 15-20 days if maintained decently well.

How do I get a French pedicure off?

Just rub it off with a nail polish remover.

What is the difference between a French pedicure and a regular pedicure?

A regular pedicure can have varied nail colors on the nail, unlike the white tips and nude color look of a French pedicure.